Double-tapered slip for rotaries



Fab.` 24, 1931.

l.. J. BLACK 1,794,273

DOUBLE TAPERED SLIP FOR ROTARIES Filed Feb. 11, 1930 'eet 1 zgpj- Qmwmoz Le c/.lao

Feb. 24, 1931.' L, J, BLACK 1,794,273

DOUBLE TAPERED SLIP FOR HOTARIES 11, 195o 2 sheets-sheet 2 52.2' 57 Lee Jzmk mg, @Zz/@f I 31a/munten h Patented Feb. 24, i931 LEE J'. BLACK, OF BEAUMONT, TEXAS DOUBLE-TAPERED SLIP FOR ROTARIES Application led February `11, 1930. Serial No. 42?',614sv rl"his invention relates to the slips or pipo holding members commonly adapted to be seated in the rotary table ot a rotary drilling machine having a downwardly converging seat and the general object of the present invention is to provide a slip of this cliaracter which includes a aw carrier having an inclined rear face adapted to lit against the bowl or seat of a rotary table anda wedge movable downward in the carrier and having interlocking engagement therewith, the wedge being adapted to engage a pipe or other concentrically disposed body, the wedge and carrier being capable oz being moved together out of the bowl or slip seat of the rotary table and the wedge being adapted to be raised or lowered to a limited extent independently oie the carrier.

A further objectis to provide a mechanism of this character wherein a handle is provided so connected to the carrier and to the wedge that the wedge and carrier may both be lifted unitarily out of the bowl of the rotary or both be lowered into said bowl while at the same time the wedge may be inde endently raised or lowered within certain limits.

A further object is to provide a slip comprising a plurality of carriers hingedly conneet-ed to cach other for swinging movement and provide each ot said carriers with a corresponding verticailv shiitable wedge carried by the carrier and provide single means connected to certain of the carriers and to all ot' said wedges whereby the carriers as a unit may be lifted into or out oi' the bowl of the rotary and whereby the wedges of the carriers may be independently shifted up or down to a limited extent.

A further object is to provide improved anti-friction means disposed between each wedge and the corresponding carrier.

Other objects will appear in the course or' the following description.

Nv inv ntion is illustrated in panying drawings, wherein Figure l is a. tcp plan view of a slip comprising a pluralityv of carriers or wedges constructed in accordance with my invention;

Figure 2 is a Jfragmentary vertical section of the upper portion of the carrier and the Lire CCGlllwedge on the line 2 2 orp Figure l, Figure 3 being a section in the same plane as Figure 2 but of the lower portion of the same carrier and wedge; V

Figure l is a vertical sectional View through a portion of the bowl of the rotary showing a carrier and wedge in elevation,` the section being ta-lren on the line 4--4 of igure l;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary top plan view of the adjacent portions of two carriers showino the hinged connection between the carriers;

Figure 6 is a vertical section on an enlarged scale on tie line 6G ot Figure 5 through the two adjacent carriersand showing the hinge connection between the two portions;

Figure Z is a view of the lubricating plate.

Referring to these drawings and particularly to Figures l, 2, 3 and et, 10 designates` a plurality of sections or carriers connected to each other to` form a` slip.

As illustrated, the slip shown in Figure l is formed of four of these sections or carriers l0, but it will be understood that it might consist of three oi these sections or carriers of a greater number than four. The slip as shown is approximately semi-circular in torni and it will be understood that under these circumstances, two slips will be used within the bowl A. of the rotary, vwhich bowl is shown in section in Figure AI. Each of the carriers l0 is hollow as at l1. The outer face of each section or carrier 10 is downwardly and inwardly inclined as at l2 (see Figures 2 and The inner face of each carrier is also downwardly and inwardly inclined but the inclination or" this inner face is less than the inclination of this outer tace l2. The inner face ot the carrier is formed with a dovetailcd recess designated generally 13 in Figure l and shown in dotted lines and the in-V ner walll otthisrecess is counter-recessed as at'lft as shown most clearly in Figures 2 and Stor the reception of a plate i5 having apertures 16 within which grease or other lubricant can be placed, this plate, therefore, constituting anti-friction means. This plate has its outer face iiush with the inner tace of the recess 13. Disposed within this recess 13 and slidable vertically therein is a jaw or wedge 17, having vertical side faces, the outer tace ot which may be either toothed or plain, this wedge being clove-tailed in cross section so as to lit the dove-tailed recess 13 and permitJ the vertical movement ot' the wedge relative to the carrier 10, but preventing any other movement of the wedge. The downward movement of the wedge is stopped by the shoulder 18L forming the lower wall oi the recess 18 as shown in Figure 8. Oi' course, the wedge may move upward relative to the carrier to any degree desired. Each wedge l? adjacent its upper end is 'loi-med with a flange 1S which is adapted to seat upon the upper cud ot the corresponding carrier and above this flange each wedge or i aw 1'? has an upwardly extending lug 19. There' are thus, in the construction shown in Figure l, four these carriers 10 and tour wedges or jaws, one slidaoly mounted in each carrier. rThe carriers are pivotally connected to each other as will be hereafter described. n

Passing loosely through the several lugs 19 is an arcuate rod 20, this rod being held in place within the several lugs and from any rotary movement otthe rod relative to each lug by means ot the Cotter pins 21 which extend through the lug and loosely through the rod from front to rear. rlhis rod 2O is designed to be connected to the slip whereby the rod and corresponding wedges may be f' lifted or lowered relative to the carriers 10.

To this end, l form, as shown in Figure 1, upon adjacent carriers 10,'the upwardly extending lugs 22. The handle 23 at its lower end is formed with a collar 2d through which the rod passes as shown in Figure ll. 'lhis handle is operatively connected by a chain 25 or other flexible elements to a pin or bolt 26 extending through the lugs 22, this bolt being detachable. Preferably, the handle 23 is provided with a hand hold 27 at its upper end.

lt will be seen, particularly from Figure l, that with this construction, the slip coniprising the several carriers and their corresponding wedges can be lifted bodily out ot' the bowl A or lowered bodily into the bowl A, but that when the slip has been lowered into the bowl, the jaws or" the several carriers may be raised or lowered independently oi' the carriers to thus secure certain advantages which will be stated more fully later. rlhis is secured by the flexible connection between the handle 28 and the carriers which permits the independent movement oi the handle 23 'for a limited distance.

Vfhile l do not wish to be limited to any particular means for pivotally connectingthe carriers to each other, l have shown a hinged connection between the carriers. rhis as illustrated in Figures 5 and 6 consists vin recessing the side tace of one carrier as at 28 and forming the complementary carrier with an ear 29 projecting into the recess 2", the upper wall oi' the rec-ess 28 forming an ear 30 as will be clear from Figure 6. The ear 29 is perforated as at 31. Disposed within the ear 30 is a bushing 32 which tits snugly within said ear and which extends downward below said ear 30 into a recess 33 formed in the upper'tace of the portion 29. This recess 33 is circular in plan view, but is of larger diameter than the diameter ot the lower portion ot the bushing 3'. A bolt 34 passes downward through the bushing 32, downward throughthe aperture 31 in the ear 29 and carries its lower end the nut 35 which hears against the under tace oi the ear 29. The aperture 31, it will be noted, is larger in diameter than the diameter ot the bolt and thus while the bolt 34 and the bushing'32 are fixed relative to one of the Ycarriers l0, the other carrier 10 is shift-able in a plurality of directions upon the bushing and bolt, thus securing that flexibility of engagement be tween the sections or carriers which is necessary to a proper operation ot these slips in actual use.

The lower of the carriers are connected to each other in approximately the same inanner as the upper end, one of the carriers having` the ear S6 carrying tl e bushing 37. and a bolt 38 passing through the bushing, the other carrier having an ear 39 larger than the bushing and through which the bushing passes, there being washers Ll0 at opposite ends oi the bolt. rl`hus the upper and lower ends oi` a carrier 10 are hingedly connected to the upper and lower ends of the opposite carrier.

lt will thus be seen that the wedges or j aws are so mounted as to allow 'for flexing with the carrier sections of the slip. I have illustrated the wedges as being limited in their downward movement by the shoulders 13d. l do not wish to be limited to the use of these shoulders, however, as obviously the flanges 18 will limit the downward movement of the wedges. In either case, there is a positive stop for the wedge or j aw. ln Figure 4, the wedge or aw 17 is shown in up position, as it will be when the slips are placed in the slip bushing` or bowl around the section of the pipe to be held. The outer taper oi the carrier sections is made to fit the standard slip bushing bowl and is sufficiently tapered to r 1event the carriers from sticking when the pipe is raised.

The mechanism is used as follows z-VVhen the unit is lifted by the handle 23 for the pur pose oit placing the unit in the slip bushing, the wedges or jaws 17 will slide up until the flexible connection 25 becomes taut, this flexible connection being attached to the carriers only and the wedges being` connected to the handle only. l/hen the unit is placed in the slip bushing, the outside taper will force the carriers forward, putting the wedges 17 into engagement with the pipe in their up posi-l tion. `When the weight of the pipe is released, tlie wedges 17, being of less taper, will slide downward with the pipe, producing a very inucli greater wedging effect than can be had by the greater outside taper of the carriers. Therefore, it will not be necessary to cut teeth in the wedges or jaws that contact against the pipe, thus eliminating the cutting of the pipe which is now the case if the pipe should slip or rotate in the present toothed wedges or jaws.

IVhen the pipe is lifted, the wedges 17 will follow the pipe up sufficiently to release the pressure on the carriers and the raising up of the handle 23 will automatically hold the wedges up and the unit can be easily lifted from the taper bushing.

The advantages of my construction are that it permits smooth faced wedges or jaws to be used instead of toothed wedges or jaws. These smooth faced wedges will not cut the pipe. I provide means for automatically releasing tlie aws when the pipe is lifted. At the same time I prevent the slippipe unit from sticking in the bushing or bowl and thus lift up the rotary bushing when the pipe is lifted. I secure a greater wedging effect to hold pipe because of the dierent tapers on carriers and wedges and I have provided means whereby the lift on the wedges or jaws is unitary.

In my construction, both the carrier and the wedges or jaws lift out as a unit when the handle is raised to the up position. The whole assembly, therefore, can be lifted clear of the bowl or bushing A. It will be seen that the method of joining two sections or carriers l to each other is such that one of the carriers is radially movable relative to the bushing and bolt but this bushing and bolt moves with the other of the carriers. This permits the adjustment ofthe slips radially, butprevents any great adjustment vertically.

lVhile I have illustrated certain details of construction, I do not wish to be limited thereto, as obviously many minor changes might be made without departing from the spirit of the invention as delined in the appended claims.

I claim l. A slip section for rotary well drilling rigs including a carrier adapted to be placed within the usual bowl and having a downwardly and inwardly inclined outer face to engage said bowl and a downwardly and inwardly incline inner face having a greater inclination than the outer face, a jaw having sliding, interlocking engagement with the last named face, and a handle directly connected to the jaw and a flexible connection between the handle and said carrier whereby to permit the handle to raise or lower both jaw and carrier when the flexible connection is .taut and permit limited vertical movement of the aw relative to the carrier when the flexible connection is slack.

'2. A slip Vfor rotary well drilling rigs including a plurality of segmental carriers .operatively engaged one with another and adapted to be disposed within the usual bowl, each carrier having a downwardly and centrally inclined outer face to engage said bowl and a downwardly and centrally inclined inner face, a jaw for each carrier having sliding engagement with the inner face thereof, and means common to all of said carriers whereby the carriers and their corresponding jaws may be raised or lowered as a unit and whereby all of the jaws of the several carriers may be shifted vertically within the carriers for a limited distance. y

3. A slip for rotary well drillingrigs including a plurality of segmental carriers adapted to be placed within the usual bowl, the carriers being hingedly connected one to another and each carrier having a downwardly and centrally inclinedouter face and a downwardly and centrally inclinedk inner face, a jaw for each carrier having dove-tailet engagement with the carrier for vertical movement of the aw within the carrier, and a single handle operatively connected to the several carriers and operatively connected to the several wedges, the operative connection between the handle and the carriers permitting the handle and the connected jaws to have limited vertical movement with reference to the carriers.

l. A slip for rotary well drilling rigsincluding a plurality of segmental carriers adapted to be placed within the-usual bowl,

the carriers being .hingedly connectedone to.

another, and each carrier having a downwardly and centrally inclined outer face and a downwardly and centrally inclined inner face, a jaw for each carrier having dovetailed engagement with the carrier for vertical movement of the jaw within the carrier, and a single handle operatively connected to the several carriers and operatively connected to the several wedges, the operative connection between theliandle and the carriers being flexible whereby to permit the handle and the connected awsto have independent vertical moveinent with relation to the carriers.

5. A slip for rotary well drilling rigs including a carrier having its outer face inclined downward and inward to fit within the usualbowl and having its inner face similarly inclined, a jaw having sliding, interlocking engagement with the inner face of the carrier, anti-friction means disposed between the confronting faces of the jaw and carrier and including a plate-like member disposed between the confronting faces, the carrier be- 1 ing recessed to support said member.

6. A slip forrotary well drilling rigs including a carrier having its outer facel inclined downward and inward to litiwithin the usual bowl and having its inner face similarly inclined, a jaw having sliding, inter- 5 locking engagement with the inner face of the carrier, anti-friction means. disposed between the confronting faces of the jaw and carrier, including a plate-like member disposed between the confronting Jfaces and having apertures to be lilled with grease, the face of the carrier being recessed to receive said plate-like member.

7. ier-,slip for rotary well drilling rigs including a plurality oil segmental carriers operatively connected one to another, a plurality of jaws one for each carrier, each aw being slidably mounted on the inner face of the carrier, said inner Jface being downwardly and centrally inclined, a handle, a member connected to all of the jaws and upon which the handle is mounted, and a flexible element connecting said handle to the slip.

8. A. slip `for rotary well drilling rigs including a plurality of segmental carriers operatively connected one to another, a plurality of jaws one for each carrier, each jaw being slidably mounted on the inner face oi the carrier, said inner face being downwardly and centrally inclined, a handle, an arcuate rod passing 'through the upper ends of all ot' the jaws and to which the handle is connected, and a leXible connection between said handle and the slip.

9. A slip for rotary well drilling rigs including a pluralityot` segmental carriers operatively connected one to another, a plurality of jaws one for each carrier, each jaw being slidably mounted on the inner face of the carrier, said inner face being downward and centrally inclined, a handle, an arcuate rod passing through the upper ends of all of the jaws and through the handle, and a ilexible connection between the handle and the sli lb. A slip for rotary well drilling rigs including a plurality of segmental carriers operatively connected one to another, a plurality of jaws one for each carrier, each jaw being slidably mounted on the inner face of its carrier, said inner Jface being downwardly and centrally inclined, a handle, an arcuate rod passing through the upper ends of all of the jaws and through the handle and a flexible connection between the handle and the slip, comprising lugs extending upward from adjacent carriers at the middle of the slip, a

pin passing through said lugs, and a flexible element connected at one end to the handle and at its opposite end to said pin.

GU In testimony whereof I afliX my signature.

LEE J. BLACK. 

